Futures Slip; J.C. Penney Rising

By Sam Mamudi

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index are off slightly, down about 0.1% ahead of Monday’s opening bell.

April’s retail sales were better than expected, somewhat easing fears of a slump in consumer demand. Sales grew by 0.1%, according to the Commerce Department. As Bloomberg reports:

The figures may prompt economists to forecast spending this quarter will cool less than previously projected as Americans overcome the January increase in the payroll tax. Lower fuel costs combined with rising stock and home values also are helping boost buying power, which will help underpin purchases as the labor market mends.

Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP) are up about 4.5% and leading the S&P in premarket trading. The retailer’s stock rose nearly 5% last week, though it’s still down 10% year to date.

Barclays Plc raised its recommendation for the shares to overweight, the equivalent of a buy rating. Morgan Stanley also upgraded the maker of glass for flat-panel televisions to equal weight, a level similar to hold, from underweight.

The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that IPOs are set to hit levels unseen since before the financial crisis, yet another sign that this bull market still has legs:

Already this year, 64 U.S.-listed public offerings have raised $16.8 billion, according to Dealogic. In the same period in 2012, the biggest year in dollars since the financial crisis, 73 companies raised a total of $13.1 billion. Last week alone brought 11 U.S.-listed IPOs, making it the busiest week for such deals since December 2007.

A more robust IPO market is seen as a potential boon for the economy because it allows companies to raise money that can be used to reduce debt or invest in their businesses. Sellers of stock such as private-equity or venture-capital firms can trim or shed their current holdings, return money to their investors, such as pension funds, and turn their attention to new investments.

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Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.